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Police: NIU student threw drugs out window

By JILLIAN DUCHNOWSKI-
jduchnowski@shawmedia.com

Jan. 18, 2014

SYCAMORE – A Northern Illinois University student tossed about a quarter-pound of marijuana, heroin and ecstasy out of his dorm room window before letting police into his room early Thursday, authorities said.

But police found the drugs on the ground outside Ryan Castner’s room at Stevenson North, including 24 pills of ecstasy and pills that police believe contained heroin, according to court records. Castner, of the 200 block of University Drive in Naperville, was charged with several felonies alleging he possessed controlled substances and marijuana, and dealt marijuana.

Castner remained in DeKalb County jail on Friday unable to post 10 percent of his $30,000 bail. If convicted of the most serious charge, possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, he would face up to 15 years in prison.

The case started about 9 p.m. Wednesday, when NIU police received an anonymous tip that Castner was dealing marijuana, ecstasy, and Adderall, a prescription drug typically used to treat attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, out of his dorm room, court records show.

When police knocked on his door about 12:45 a.m. Thursday, Castner refused to let them search his room, but police heard shuffling and knocking inside the room before Castner went outside to smoke a cigarette. When he was finished, Castner told police he would let them search his room, so police checked both the room and the area outside the residence hall immediately below his room’s window, court records show.

Inside the room, police found a hypodermic needle, a razor blade, a scale, a large quantity of small baggies, $99 cash and marijuana, court records show. They found 157 grams, or about 5 1/2 ounces, of marijuana outside, court records show.

Castner later told police that the airtight sealed plastic bag of marijuana they found outside was how he purchased it, a quarter-pound at a time, court records show. He told them he typically paid $1,200 for a quarter-pound of marijuana and made $500 to $600 in profit, court records show.